Summary At 0530 eastern daylight time on 11August2004, the container ship CanadaSenator was proceeding downbound on the St.Lawrence River under the conduct of a pilot when the sailboat Mondisy, under power, was sighted by the bridge team on board the CanadaSenator about two nautical miles ahead in the main channel. The distance between the CanadaSenator and the Mondisy decreased, but the Mondisy remained in the main channel. Because the pilot of the CanadaSenator was in doubt about the intentions of the Mondisy, warning signals were sounded on two occasions on the ship's whistle but to no avail. Avoidance manoeuvres were carried out by the CanadaSenator, but a collision ensued. As a result of the impact, the ferro-cement sailboat Mondisy sank almost instantly. Two of the four persons on board the Mondisy were recovered from the water and survived with minor injuries and the other two persons lost their lives. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information Particulars of the Vessels History of the Voyage Aboard the CanadaSenator Some time after 0530, in daylight, upstream of Saint-Nicolas, Quebec, a sailboat, later identified as the Mondisy, was spotted by the bridge team approximately two nautical miles ahead of the CanadaSenator. From a distance, the sailboat appeared to be proceeding under power down river, but the bridge team later realized that the boat was moving in a zigzag movement across the main navigation channel. The pilot reported the vessel's arrival at the Saint-Nicolas calling-in point to the Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) centre in Qubec, Quebec, a little early (approximately two minutes) to avoid being distracted and to pay attention to the movements of the Mondisy. At about 0545, while navigating on the Pointe Basile ranges, the pilot sounded five to six short blasts on the ship's whistle to warn the Mondisy of the increasing danger and then requested a course alteration to starboard of some three degrees as the Mondisy was now seen to be crossing the river from starboard to port. Almost immediately, the Mondisy crossed over the track of the CanadaSenator from port to starboard; the pilot sounded the warning signal once again. The helm was put hard-a-port and the pilot ran to the starboard wing to see if the sailboat would clear the bow. The sailboat crossed close in front of the ship, but then turned again across the track of the CanadaSenator. Hard-a-starboard helm was ordered, but a collision occurred within the buoyed channel between buoysQ19 andQ18. There is conflicting information as to whether the collision took place before or just after the last hard-a-starboard order. On coming in contact with the bow of the CanadaSenator at approximately 0554, the hull of the Mondisy was breached and the sailboat sank almost immediately. The Qubec MCTS centre was immediately informed. One person was spotted in the water but a lifering was not released. The ship's speed was reduced, and the container ship was manoeuvred back towards the accident position. Meanwhile, some 35minutes after the collision, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) search and rescue (SAR) vessel CCGC Sterne arrived on the scene and, at 0630, recovered two survivors hanging on to flotsam. One of the survivors had tried to inflate the liferaft. However, the painter was too long to work while swimming and he was unable to inflate the liferaft. At 0648, the CanadaSenator anchored near the collision site and, at 0654, launched its rescue boat to join in the search operation. A CCG helicopter as well as CCG auxiliary vessels searched for the remainder of the day without success. At 0754, the Qubec MCTS centre requested that the CanadaSenator proceed to anchorageB at the port of Qubec. At 0918, after having recovered the rescue boat and weighed anchor, the ship reached the port of Qubec. The pilot disembarked at 0936. By this time, the pilot was reportedly exhausted. Before the ship weighed anchor, a relief was neither provided by the Laurentian Pilotage Authority nor was it requested by the pilot. Visibility from the Bridge of the CanadaSenator After the accident and while anchored in the port of Qubec, measurements were taken and it was determined that the CanadaSenator had containers stacked to a height that obscured the horizontal field of vision to a distance of approximately 610m forward of the bow. The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea5 required the CanadaSenator to ensure that, where practicable, the view of the sea surface was not obscured by more than two ship lengths, that is 405m. Aboard the Mondisy to South America in December after cruising in eastern Canada during the fall. The Mondisy maintained speeds of between five and seven knots during the downbound voyage to Qubec. The trip was scheduled to take some 24hours to complete; no formal voyage plans were prepared. The owner, the co-worker, and the crew member relieved each other at the helm on an as-needed basis throughout the day until approximately 2230, when the owner and his companion retired to their cabin. From about 2230 to some time after 2300, the crew member and co-worker shared the helm until the vessel arrived at the port of Trois-Rivires. Thereafter, the owner conned the sailboat through the port and then returned to bed. Throughout the night, the crew member and the co-worker resumed alternating the workload on an as-needed basis as the vessel continued making way towards Qubec. Under directions from the owner, the vessel was navigated using the electronic chart system (ECS) and kept to the right side of the navigable channel, very close to the green buoys. Around 0300 on August11, the owner and his companion were inadvertently woken up by the noise created by the crew member as he lifted deck plates in the engine room to change the supply from one fuel tank to another. Both the owner and his companion returned to sleep around 0400. Shortly thereafter, the crew member was relieved at the helm by the co-worker because the former was feeling tired. With the co-worker now assuming helm and lookout duties, the crew member fell asleep while sitting in the companionway. This is the last known event on board before the collision. Shore Side Observation A sailboat making unusual movements caught the attention of an observer located high on an overlooking cliff in Saint-Nicolas. The Mondisy was observed circling to port, that is counterclockwise, for at least 15minutes, and possibly for as long as 25minutes before the collision. Injuries to Persons Two survivors were recovered from the water and admitted to hospital. They were later released with minor injuries. The co-worker on duty at the time of the collision and the owner asleep in his cabin died as a result of the accident. The owner's body was found within the sunken wreck by divers soon after the accident. The co-worker's body was found on August 16 a short distance down river from the collision site. According to the Coroner's report, the injuries sustained by the co-worker were consistent with severe trauma and, as such, were probably as a result of the impact. Toxicology results were found to be negative and there is no information to suggest that alcohol had been consumed. Damage to the Vessel The wreck of the Mondisy was salvaged from the river bottom 22days after the collision in position latitude 4642'54N, longitude 07125'42W. Damage was extreme as the entire hull had collapsed under the force of the impact with the CanadaSenator. The laptop computer used for navigation was recovered, but information pertaining to the last voyage was not retrievable from the hard disc because of water damage. Training and Experience The master and the officer of the watch of the CanadaSenator were duly certified officers as per international standards with 23and 20years of experience respectively. The pilot on board the CanadaSenator was also a mariner of experience, having been at sea since 1976and a pilot since1986. He had obtained a ClassA pilotage licence in1990. The owner, co-worker and crew member aboard the Mondisy were not experienced navigators. The Mondisy, however, was equipped with global positioning system (GPS) navigation integrated to an ECS application on a laptop computer. The crew used the software to navigate the sailboat under power down the St.Lawrence River, in daytime and at night. No one on board the Mondisy had formal navigation training and only the owner held a Pleasure Craft Operator Card(PCOC). Due to transitional provisions that will only apply in2009, neither the owner nor the co-worker were required to hold this certification. The 18-year-old crew member was, however, required to have a PCOC to operate the Mondisy.6 Pleasure Craft Operator Card The Competency of Operators of Pleasure Craft Regulations provide a potential mechanism for risk mitigation through the self-study and testing process prior to being awarded a PCOC.7 Although this program covers many aspects of pleasure craft operation, including keeping an effective audible and visual lookout, voyage planning is not part of the syllabus. Tests are also administered via the Internet and the validation is done by use of proctors. Procedures are in place that define the roles and responsibilities of course providers and proctors.